Oscars 2022: Every Acting Nominee Ranked

Another beloved Oscar-winner who seems to have been nominated without much fanfare, Dame Judi Dench offers a wise and touching grace to Kenneth Branagh's drama Belfast, but is easily the weak link of the Best Supporting Actress race.

As the film's family matriarch, there's something infectiously sweet about Dench's comforting yet heartbreaking turn, but it's such a brief and not entirely challenging role that it leaves you wondering how she beat out her much more impressive co-star Caitríona Balfe to the shortlist.

Considering the performances she's beaten to the punch - Jodie Comer in The Last Duel, and Ruth Negga in Passing - it's impossible not to see Dench's nomination as anything other than the Academy saluting the actress rather than the performance.

It's great to see her still getting such praise at 86, but there are plenty names more deserving of her nomination.